Chapter 53 – Dangerous Whispers

Ling Guyong had no idea Tang Chaoyang actually harbored thoughts of rebellion.

Today, he was originally scheduled to visit Zhuque Alley at the Hour of the Goat to receive acupuncture treatment.

But something came up, so he could only reschedule with Tang Chaoyang to meet at the Hour of the Rooster.

When the Hour of the Rooster arrived, he reached Zhuque Alley.

From inside the main room came the faint sound of a woman humming softly.

Ling Guyong went to the main room. Just as he stepped one long leg over the threshold, he saw Tang Chaoyang sitting cross-legged on the floor, casually shaving strips of wood.

Her lips were parting to hum a delicate, sentimental love aria from Romance of the Western Chamber.

She was entertaining herself alone, playing out both the man’s and the woman’s parts in the duet.

[Male voice singing]:
Azure clouds in the sky, golden flowers on the ground… At dawn, who stains the frosted woods with intoxication? Ever and always, it is the tears of those parted.

[Female voice singing]:
Never-ending lovesick tears and blood, cast as red beans…

Ling Guyong nearly burst out laughing. He quietly backed out of the doorway, covering his stomach to suppress his amusement.

Just as the woman inside was about to launch into a second round of enthusiastic singing, he stepped back in, cleared his throat, and leaned lazily against the doorframe. He deliberately joined in with a teasing line:

“You say it is a fine night, a fine sky…blushing shy, your cheeks aflame…”

Tang Chaoyang: “….”

Someone please strike him dead with lightning.

She felt her ears, her cheeks, her entire body flush with heat.

“Why do you walk without making a sound?” she accused with a slanting glare.

The man leaning against the doorframe was clad in a black long robe trimmed with gold embroidery. His face wore a mischievous smile.

He walked over and, imitating her, sat cross-legged on a mat on the floor. He raised his brows slightly.

“It’s not that I’m silent—it’s that you were too absorbed in the beauty of your own voice to hear me. Is that my fault? And what exactly are you doing?”

“Making a lantern. I tried to make one with my son today, but it failed. I’m planning to make another one as a gift for him.”

When she mentioned her son, her eyes were full of tenderness and fondness.

The child she called her son must be that little Fei An’an.

Ling Guyong’s lips curved in a faint smile.

He glanced at the things scattered on the floor: strips of wood, sheets of paper, paste—everything needed for lantern-making.

He, too, carried a dagger on him. He drew it and, quite naturally, began helping her whittle wood strips.

“I’ll help you. I know how to make lanterns,” he said.

Tang Chaoyang sounded genuinely delighted. “Perfect—you can teach me.”

“All right.”

One willing to teach, one eager to learn—and both of them adults—so the lantern was finished in no time.

“You’re really amazing.” Tang Chaoyang’s praise was completely sincere.

Ling Guyong hadn’t expected to be praised just for making a lantern.

He let out a low laugh, looking handsome as he smiled.

“That’s called amazing? Do you want to paint or inscribe something on it?” he suggested.

Tang Chaoyang did want to, but she truly wasn’t good at painting such things. She shook her head and sighed honestly. “Painting is too hard for me.”

She suddenly remembered the man beside her could draw.

Last time, he had sketched those servants of Prince Cheng’s residence for Lord Gao.

“Guyuan, could you paint it for me?” she asked, eyes full of anticipation.

Ling Guyong chuckled. “Give me one tael of silver, and I’ll do it. What do you want painted?”

Tang Chaoyang cheerfully paid him on the spot. “Paint a proud rooster.”

Ling Guyong: “??”

A rooster?

Tang Chaoyang’s eyes narrowed slightly, and from her red lips she breathed out a voice that was both surprised and threatening:

“What? You already took the money—are you trying to go back on your word? A gentleman’s promise…”

Ling Guyong gave a helpless, mild laugh. “Fine. Who told you I’m a gentleman?”

A gentleman’s promise is worth more than a team of horses. He understood.

It was just a rooster. He could do it.

Seeing that he agreed, Tang Chaoyang contentedly went to the kitchen to brew his medicinal decoction.

By the time she returned to the main room with the finished medicine, he was sitting in a chair, resting with one hand supporting his head.

The lantern was placed on the table.

It looked like he was done painting.

She walked over, picked it up to inspect—and when she saw the image of a fiery phoenix, vividly sketched in just a few strokes, she was stunned.

“…I clearly asked for a rooster.”

A rooster and a phoenix weren’t even the same species.

Hearing her shocked exclamation, Ling Guyong opened those deep, dark eyes. With particular shamelessness, he argued,

“It’s a fire chicken, not a phoenix.”

His long fingers pointed at the phoenix, brazenly calling it a fire chicken.

It was the first time Tang Chaoyang had met such an overbearing and unreasonable man.

“…Today I have finally seen what it means to call a stag a horse.”

“Come on, let’s get the acupuncture over with.”

Fine—fire chicken it was.

She didn’t want to keep arguing about it.

Just as she was about to step out the door, she suddenly turned back and sneered,

“Guyuan, have you never actually seen a rooster?”

Ling Guyong’s smile froze a little. “I’ve seen one.”

Tang Chaoyang slowly shook her head, clearly disbelieving. Her eyes flashed with sly amusement.

“If you say so.”

“…”

＊

Inside the room, Ling Guyong stood at the bedside after his acupuncture treatment. He picked up his robe and put it back on.

Leisurely, he asked her, “Doctor Tang, have you finished writing that plan of yours?”

Tang Chaoyang nodded. “Almost. Just a few more days.”

“The whole world knows that the Tang Chaoyang of Yong’en Marquis Manor was illiterate, arrogant, and domineering. Are you really her?”

His voice was light, casual, as though they were merely chatting about the weather.

But he had directly called out her true identity.

Tang Chaoyang felt a shock in her heart—but also a sense of clarity.

When the Embroidered Guards set out to investigate someone, they could always unearth some clues.

He stepped forward. Tang Chaoyang instinctively backed away.

The two of them stared each other down.

She retreated step by step, until her lower back bumped against the table. Only then did he stop.

He lifted both hands to brace them against the tabletop, caging her in.

Though they appeared close, he still kept a bit of distance.

His long fingers reached out to brush lightly against her cheek. His voice was low and dangerous as he murmured:

“Are you really Tang Chaoyang?”

Though her expression remained calm, she felt as if she were facing a mortal enemy.

This man was extremely dangerous.